Access to clean water is one of the world's most pressing problems, but a team of University at Buffalo researchers has come up with a new take on an old technology that uses sunlight to purify water with what is claimed to be near-perfect efficiency.
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UV Sense, L'Oréal's new ultraviolet light sensor, fits on the user's thumbnail. To get a reading from the device, you have to pass your smartphone over it. What if you want things to be even simpler, though? Well, you might want to try the no-phone-required LogicInk UV.
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A team of researchers at the University of Alberta in Canada has uncovered an extraordinary new, previously undiscovered, fat-burning mechanism. The new study reveals fat cells just under the skin are sensitive to a specific spectrum of sunlight and shrink when exposed.
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We've already seen bracelets that monitor the wearer's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Now, L’Oréal has teamed up with Northwestern University to create a thumbnail-mounted gadget that does the same job. According to the university, it is the world's smallest wearable device.
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Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants can be a key part of a renewable energy strategy, but progress is often focused on larger facilities. Now, engineers from Sandia National Laboratories are improving the efficiency of smaller plants, designing a new receiver that can absorb much more sunlight.
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MIT researchers have created a unique bubble-wrapped sponge that can boil water through the absorption of sunlight.
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Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have developed a sun-activated device that kills 99.999 percent of bacteria in water, within just 20 minutes.
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Opening and closing your blinds is such a trivial process that you may never have thought about automating it, but it can make your home more energy efficient and secure. A new device called the FlipFlic allows users to automate existing blinds and control them via an accompanying mobile app.
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Designer and architect Aldana Ferrer Garcia has imagined a quirky extending window frame that would offer apartment dwellers the opportunity to gaze at the clouds (or indeed, stars) while sat inside.
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We have seen a number of smart windows that keep interior spaces from overheating, and some that even harvest energy for lights. But a new tunable window technology is claimed to do things the smart glass before it cannot, allowing users control over brightness, color temperature and opacity.
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